Marion man pleads guilty to menacing a witness

A Marion man accused of threatening to harm a Delaware man if he testified against his neighbor has changed his plea to guilty in Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

Shadow Arthur, 23, of Marion was in court Friday afternoon and changed his plea to guilty on a charge of aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor. Judge David Gormley found Arthur guilty and scheduled a sentencing date for Nov. 16.

Arthur, along with Nathaniel Clark, 26, — formerly of 173 Silver Maple Drive, Delaware, and currently of Thornville, Ohio — was indicted on June 19 and charged with intimidation of a witness in a criminal case, a third-degree felony, and aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor.

As part of his plea deal, Arthur agreed to testify against Clark when Clark goes to trial and, in exchange, the charge of intimidation of a witness in a criminal case was dismissed.

Clark was originally scheduled to stand trial today but prosecutors filed a motion to continue on Oct. 1 when they learned one of their key witnesses is ill.

The trial has not been rescheduled.

The charges stem from an April incident in which Clark fired a handgun in his neighborhood and was later arrested by police.

Police report that a witness to the April incident, Roger Porter, 45, of 146 Silver Maple Drive, Delaware, called police the morning of June 13 about 2:30 a.m. to report that Clark, a neighbor, had come to his house. Porter is a witness in a pending criminal case against Clark.

Porter told police that Arthur, who was with Clark, threatened him with a knife. Police allege that Arthur told Porter that he would be harmed if he testified against Clark.

Clark and Arthur were located at a nearby apartment and arrested. They were charged with intimidating a witness and aggravated menacing, and taken to the county jail.

Clark was also indicted by the grand jury on a charge of menacing by stalking, a fourth-degree felony. Police allege Clark stalked Porter between June 1 and June 13.

Clark had been indicted by another grand jury in May on charges of having weapons under disability, a third-degree felony; using weapons while intoxicated; a first-degree misdemeanor; and inducing panic, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Delaware police responded to a complaint of loud music at Clark’s residence about 11 p.m. April 22. Police said they spoke to Clark who showed signs of intoxication but did turn down the music’s volume.

Police were called to Silver Maple Drive more than an hour later — at 12:47 a.m. — regarding gunshots heard in the area. Porter told police he had seen Clark stand in his doorway and fire a handgun at the ground before returning to his house.

Police called in the Delaware County tactical team which helped police resolve the situation after evacuating residents in nearby apartments. Clark was taken into custody and several firearms were seized from his home.